The state Senate is finally starting to hold confirmation hearings for Gov. Lawton Chiles' appointees.Republicans running the Senate have delayed the confirmations until the final two weeks of the session - an unheard of move aimed at holding on to some bargaining chips. It's a move that is frosting some Democrats, who promise long memories the next time a Republican governor makes appointments.Senate President Jim Scott said the late confirmations aren't a ploy to elicit agreements from the administration.

Earlier this month, Justice Clarence ThomasÃÆÃâÃâÃâ wife, Virginia, left a message with Anita Hill, asking her to apologize for ÃÆÃâÃâÃâwhat you did with my husband.ÃÆÃâÃâÃâ Hill testified during ThomasÃÆÃâÃâÃâ confirmation hearings in 1991 that he had sexually harassed her when she worked for him. Hill said she still stands by her testimony, but Thomas has always denied her allegations.

Just a week ago, even President George W. Bush's most ardent opponents were predicting swift confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts so that the full Senate could vote on the nomination before the court's next session. That inexplicably changed with the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Mr. Bush's decision to appoint Mr. Roberts to fill that vacancy. Now some Democrats and special-interest groups on the left are suddenly arguing that more information is needed.

Say it ain't so, Elena. Elena Kagan thinks that the "Borking" of Robert Bork during his 1987 confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court would deserve a commemorative plate if the Franklin Mint launched a "great moments in legal history" line of dishware. This is not the time to rehearse all the reasons why Kagan is wrong on that score. Still, there is one adverse result of the Bork hearings worth dwelling on. Bork was the last Supreme Court nominee to give serious answers to serious questions.

Thousands of callers jammed the Sound Off lines Sunday to register their feelings about the confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas. The Sentinel has extended its Sound Off until 6:30 p.m. today. Some calls will be interrupted for brief interviews. Results will appear Tuesday.

Confirmation hearings for Jane Alexander, the actress President Clinton has nominated to head the National Endowment for the Arts, are not likely before mid-September. Clinton formally nominated Alexander last Saturday. She ends her run this Saturday in The Sisters Rosensweig on Broadway. She has declined to comment on the nomination. A Senate aide said that Alexander is expected to start making courtesy calls on members of the Senate, who must act on her nomination, after Labor Day.

It may have seemed as though the strange and disturbing confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas over the weekend were all anyone was talking about, but early returns suggest that, while the televised sessions were riveting, life went on for most Americans.According to a new survey being released today just four in 10 Americans said they were paying ''very close'' attention this weekend to the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, fewer than said they were paying such close attention to the breakup of the Soviet Union over the last month.

Anyone looking for ways to shorten Supreme Court confirmation hearings need look no further than the garrulous senators themselves: They spend too much time telling everyone what they think.Yes, it is frustrating not to get more answers from a Clarence Thomas or a David Souter or any other nominee about his or her judicial philosophy. But does that mean we have to be tortured with so many of the senators' own opinions?Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who were considering the Thomas nomination, seemed to think so. Thomas supporters and detractors peppered question after question with their own opinions on this or that political issue.

Two Democratic senators have said Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court appointment would have been derailed had a former female employee testified at his confirmation hearings, The Washington Post reported Sunday.Angela Wright, a journalist from North Carolina and an employee of Thomas' when he was chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, went to Washington to testify at the divisive confirmation hearings three years ago.But Wright ended up not testifying, and senators gave the impression that she was not willing to do so.The Post report said Wright did not testify because the Senate Judiciary Committee, including Democratic Chairman Joseph Biden, did not want her to.At the last minute, the report said, Biden gave Wright a letter releasing her from the subpoena that originally summoned her.The Post said Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill.

When President Bush nominated David Souter to the Supreme Court, many people had reservations because little was known about the New Hampshire jurist's opinions on key issues. Some suspected Souter holds the same anti-abortion position as the Bush administration. Though he didn't reveal his abortion stance during confirmation hearings, he did say there is a right to privacy, and some consider that a key to abortion rights. He also said he supports affirmative action in hiring minorities. What do you think?

Senate Republicans, trying to make the most of a weak hand, served notice Monday they will attack Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor over the next two days as a biased judge who cannot be fully trusted to follow the law and whose ethnic identity could sway her rulings. They also acknowledged, however, that President Obama's nominee is almost certain to win confirmation. The Republican strategy made for an unusual opening day for the Sotomayor hearings, and it could make for lively exchanges today and Wednesday.

A $7,000 tax mistake shouldn't disqualify Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius from serving as the nation's top health official, a key Republican senator said Wednesday. Sen. Charles Grassley said that he felt Sebelius made "a good-faith effort" to pay her taxes correctly in the first place, and errors discovered in a recent review should not count against her. Grassley, the senior Republican on the Finance Committee, said he is reserving judgment on Sebelius until confirmation hearings.

WASHINGTON -- With typical Midwestern bluntness, Sen. Charles Grassley seemed to say it all when he summed up the state of play on Day 3 of Senate hearings on the nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court. "We've gone over the same ground many times," the Iowa Republican said. "The horse is dead. Quit beating it." If one thing has become clear since Monday, when Alito first sat down in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, it is that the process is as much about the senators and their own agendas as it is about the nominee.

WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. declared Monday that "no person in this country -- no matter how high or powerful -- is above the law," as the Senate opened confirmation hearings expected to focus heavily on the scope of presidential power and the secret eavesdropping operation at the National Security Agency. Alito's remarks to the Senate Judiciary Committee were his first substantive public comments since President Bush picked him to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor more than two months ago. The federal appeals-court judge from New Jersey talked about what he had learned from his family as he grew up, from his tenure as a U.S. government lawyer and from his judicial colleagues.

Just a week ago, even President George W. Bush's most ardent opponents were predicting swift confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts so that the full Senate could vote on the nomination before the court's next session. That inexplicably changed with the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Mr. Bush's decision to appoint Mr. Roberts to fill that vacancy. Now some Democrats and special-interest groups on the left are suddenly arguing that more information is needed.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush nominated John G. Roberts Jr. as the nation's 17th chief justice of the Supreme Court early Monday and urged the Senate to confirm him quickly. Less than 36 hours after learning of Chief Justice William Rehnquist's death, Bush asked Roberts to take the center seat on the court, instead of the seat held by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. With Roberts in the Oval Office, Bush said his nominee had "earned the nation's confidence" in the two months since he was nominated to replace O'Connor and would serve the country with distinction.

Earlier this month, Justice Clarence ThomasÃÆÃâÃâÃâ wife, Virginia, left a message with Anita Hill, asking her to apologize for ÃÆÃâÃâÃâwhat you did with my husband.ÃÆÃâÃâÃâ Hill testified during ThomasÃÆÃâÃâÃâ confirmation hearings in 1991 that he had sexually harassed her when she worked for him. Hill said she still stands by her testimony, but Thomas has always denied her allegations.

A $7,000 tax mistake shouldn't disqualify Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius from serving as the nation's top health official, a key Republican senator said Wednesday. Sen. Charles Grassley said that he felt Sebelius made "a good-faith effort" to pay her taxes correctly in the first place, and errors discovered in a recent review should not count against her. Grassley, the senior Republican on the Finance Committee, said he is reserving judgment on Sebelius until confirmation hearings.

WASHINGTON -- Congressional leaders appeared split along party lines Sunday over whether to postpone Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. in light of the hurricane disaster and the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist. President Bush pledged to move quickly to nominate a replacement for Rehnquist and urged Congress to move forward as well on his nomination of Roberts to fill the seat of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. There was deep uncertainty at the White House and on Capitol Hill as lawmakers considered whether they should postpone confirmation hearings set to begin Tuesday.